Do you hang or tumble dry clothes?

Ireland
March 21, 2007 3:43pm CST
I don't have a dryer so in the summer the clothes are hung outside and in the winter we use what is called a hot press. It's basically a cupboard built around the water heater which heats up and dries the clothes. It helps us save on electric bills. What do you do?
7 people like this
19 responses
@bgerig (1258)
• United States
21 Mar 07
tumble dry although once in a while I have to hang up (inside) a shirt to get out its wrinkles.
2 people like this
21 Mar 07
In the summer I dry the clothes outside. If its raining I put them on the airer in the house and they dry in a couple of days. In the winter I put the clothes over the radiators. It is the inbetween time that I use the dryer. When it is rainign or dull outside so I can't put them out. But its too warm for the heating on so they don't dry on the raditors. I have very little room around my water heater, but I do sometimes finish drying off my towels in there.
2 people like this
@seamonkey (1976)
• Ireland
22 Mar 07
I live in the land of the damp and also use a hot press. We call it an airing cupboard. A tumble dryer will be my next major purchase though because with growing boys it is too much of a pain.
1 person likes this
• Australia
21 Apr 07
I hand my clothes outside, in my back porch. It has a clear plastic roof so the clothes get sunshine and ventilation but no rain. When I'm busy I can leave them there for days & they never get wet again. In winter I hang my clothes on a clothes rack over a central heating hot-air vent. If I cover them with a sheet it becomes like a temporary clothes airer, & I don't use any electricity, just the gas I was using to heat the house already.
@cynddvs (2948)
• United States
7 Jul 07
I take the lazy way and dry most of my clothes in the dryer. But there are some clothes that are delicate that I will hang to dry. But since I live in an apartment I don't really have many place to hang them and we're not allowed to hang them on our balcony.
@bowtieguy (5915)
• United States
7 Jul 07
Tumble, hang drying them makes them come out way too wrinkled.
@cabergren (1181)
• United States
22 Mar 07
I have a dryer and use it for everything. I just use a lower setting for delicate fabrics. Sometimes I hang them for a while and then fluff them up in the dryer.
@onabreak2 (1161)
• United States
22 Mar 07
I usually always use my dryer because the clothes seem so stiff if I don't. But if it is super hot out then I will hang things like towels out . Never slacks or dress clothes though. I have different settings on the dryer though so if I absolutely have to dry something on a really hot day I can set it to the lowest possible heat.
• Philippines
16 Apr 07
The sun is mostly up in our side of the planet so we always hang our clothes outside. During rainy days we also hang it outside because we have a covered space to let the clothes dry. We also hang it indoors and dry it with the help of an electric fan when the weather continue to be uncooperative.
@syain1972 (1011)
• Singapore
22 Mar 07
I only use the dryer during rainy and dampy days. When it's sunny I prefer to have my clothes hung out in the sun. Love that fresh smell of your laundry after a sunny day out...
@carolscash (9492)
• United States
26 Mar 07
We tumble dry all oof our clothes. While growing up, I never had a washer or dryer and we washed all clothes by hand and hung everything out to dry. Well, I was determined when I grew up and got married that I would never live without one again and I havent. I do occasionally hang clothes outside, but not often.
@shakeroo (3986)
• Malaysia
22 Mar 07
We do not have a dryer too and therefore, we have to hang our clothes to dry. It is not much of a problem since our country is always hot most of the time. The only problem is when it is raining or during the rainy season.
@Gemmygirl1 (2867)
• Australia
18 Apr 07
I don't have a dryer either, i cant bring myself to pay that much money for something i probably wont use much. I have a line outside for the warmer weather - we're in Autumn here in Australia now & it's still strangely warm so i can still dry outside. When it gets cooler, we have a wood heater/combustion heater & that heats SO WELL so i put everything over a clothes airer & sit it in the dining room - clothes are usually dry within a few hours. It'd probably be quicker in a dryer but still i can get a few loads done & dried in a day without the extra on my power bill. Plus, since it's only my 10 month old daughter, my partner & i, the 3 of us don't have tonnes of washing anyway.
@Woodpigeon (3710)
• Ireland
17 Apr 07
I pretty much hang them. For the really big and thick stuff that goes into the dryer just to make sure it gets dried all the way through. I only really have to do that with duvets or sleeping bags, though. ebetything else is usually ok to hang dry.
@cutepenguin (6431)
• Canada
21 Mar 07
I hang them up. Often just on hangers over the crtain rod in the bathroom - we live in a very small apartment, and don't have our own washer/dryer - we have to use the building's. And while the laundry room is nice, and no one steals clothes, it's a bit pricey.
• United States
21 Mar 07
i hang wet clothes on my hangers and hang them on the inside of my shower curtain to drip dry. i am not willing to shell out $0.75 to let the apartment's clothe's dryer to half dry or fry my clothes or bake a stain in. who knows what's been in there before my clothes went in there to begin with. it is not a lot of savings but it is some savings, but when you consider that i'm probably saving damage to my clothes, it is more savings.
@Michele21 (3093)
• United States
22 Mar 07
We have a tumble dryer that I use all the time. I have never hung my clothes out to dry but would love to try it sometime!!
@ElicBxn (63252)
• United States
21 Mar 07
I have a gas dryer. Never heard of a hot press, must be something Texan's don't have. My mom said that her mother used to hang clothes outside even in the winter - they froze at first, but did dry.
@ycswid (279)
• Canada
21 Mar 07
I always hang my clothes outside in the good weather. In the spring/summer/fall I try to do laundry on days when the weather is good. I much prefer to have my clothes dried outside in the sun (a natural stain remover) than baked in my dryer. That being said I do use my dryer in the winter. I will put the clothes on my clothes horse overnight in the bathtub and then into the dryer for just 10 minutes to unstiffen them in the morning. I love that in the nice weather when it's windy clothes smell so fresh and are so soft.